CrossFit - Rituality

JOURNAL OF
CUSTOMER
BEHAVIOUR
Elements of rituality in consumer tribes:

The case of crossfit
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Anna Pekkanen, University of Tampere, Finland

Elina Närvänen, University of Tampere, Finland*
Pekka Tuominen, University of Tampere, Finland
Delivered by Ingenta
Abstract This study analyses the elements of rituality in consumer tribes.

Data are drawn from a qualitative study on the Reebok CrossFit 33100 fitness
community. According to previous research, rituality is a primary contributor
to the existence, creation and recreation of consumer tribes. However, further
research is needed on how rituality is constructed in consumption tribes. This
study identifies three elements, namely, linguistic, physical, and emotional, that
hold the tribe together and give form to its shared myth of transformation. By
conducting a cultural analysis of focus group interviews and online data, we
identified a key ritual, the ‘workout of the day’ (WOD), which we analysed for
elements of rituality. According to our findings, participating in this ritual creates
a shared myth of transformation for tribe members that permeates the entire
tribal experience. This article contributes to literature on consumer tribes by
deepening knowledge on how rituality is constructed, especially the emotional
and embodied nature of the tribal experience. By identifying the shared myth that
is created through rituality, companies can better understand and co-operate
with consumer tribes.
Keywords Rituality, Consumer tribes, Emotion, Linguistic, Physical
*Correspondence details and biographies for the authors are located at the end of the article.
JOURNAL OF CUSTOMER BEHAVIOUR, 2017, Vol. 16, No. 4, pp. 353-370

http://dx.doi.org/10.1362/147539217X15144729108144
ISSN1475-3928 print /ISSN1477-6421 online © Westburn Publishers Ltd.
354 JCB Journal of Customer Behaviour
INTRODUCTION
Academics agree that communal consumption is taking an ever-increasing number of

forms within the marketplace (Goulding, Shankar, & Canniford, 2013; Hamilton &
Hewer, 2010; Närvänen, Gummesson, & Kuusela, 2014; Thomas, Price, & Schau,
2013). The creation and attraction of such communities, called ‘consumer tribes’,
are accelerated by mass media and no longer require the presence of commercial
entities (Cova & Dalli, 2009, p. 485). The only connection between tribal members
might be a shared feeling or emotional experience (Cova, 1997). According to
Cova, Kozinets and Shankar (2007), tribes have a significant effect on conventional
marketing dynamics. They transform a commercial monologue into a dialogue and
curb consumer resistance with their playfulness and ephemerality. Cova et al. (2007)
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claim that, by making consumption a game with transparent rules, the creation of
consumer tribes can avoid the duality of a consumer either giving in to the market or
resisting it. Nevertheless, it can be argued that few companies offer comprehensive
solutions to support tribes’ consumption experiences (Goulding et al., 2013). Ignoring
communities of feeling can be a mistake, as the values, policies and feelings shared
among the tribe members can eventually become mainstream, offering new ways for
companies to participate and engage with their customers (Goulding, Shankar, &
Elliott, 2002).
Existing tribal studies focus on analysing the building blocks of consumption

tribes and understanding their formation (Goulding et al., 2002; Goulding et al.,
2013; Harwood & Garry 2009). An element of this tribal formation is rituality, as
identified by Cova (1997), who built on Maffesoli’s (1996) ideas of postmodern tribes.
Rituality, characterised by repeated and coordinated activities that are meaningful for
tribe members, is argued to be a driving force of the emotional experience within
a consumption tribe (Goulding & Shankar, 2011). Therefore, it is central to the
survival of the tribe and, indeed, the whole tribe is likely to fall apart if the rituals
holding it together are not sustained (Cova & Cova, 2002).
Consumption rituals have been widely studied within interpretive consumer
research (Gainer, 1995; McCracken, 1986; Otnes & Lowrey, 2004; Rook, 1985;
Wallendorf & Arnould, 1991). Yet, the literature on consumer tribes has not fully
concentrated on rituals and especially the elements that construct rituality in a
consumer tribe (for an exception, see Goulding & Shankar, 2011). This study aims
to analyse in particular the linguistic, physical and emotional elements of rituality
in a consumer tribe. By focusing on Reebok CrossFit 33100, a tribe that engages
in extremely physical and sometimes even painful activity, we intend to provide
new understanding about how and why tribes are brought into temporary existence
and held together. The case tribe consists of amateur athletes united by their shared
interest in functional training and communal spirit. The Reebok CrossFit33100 is
categorised as a tribe rather than a brand community in this article, because the
role of the Reebok brand is not central and there is no significant loyalty toward
Reebok or other brands. Furthermore, even though CrossFit itself can be considered
a brand, our data highlights the members’ shared feelings and emotional experiences
rather than their relationship with the CrossFit brand. However, the case context
represents a contemporary phenomenon of ‘branded fitness’ (Powers & Greenwell,
2016) where participants invest a considerable amount of time, as well as financial
and social resources, in exercise and membership. As the focus is on physical activity,
this context allows us to explore the embodied and emotional nature of tribal rituals
in more detail.
Pekkanen, Närvänen & Tuominen Elements of rituality in consumer tribes 355
This article begins by reviewing the literature on tribes and their characteristics,
as well as on rituals and rituality. Next, we describe the study’s methodology. In
the empirical section, we identify interconnected linguistic, physical and emotional
elements of rituality in the Reebok CrossFit 33100 tribe. Finally, we draw the analysis
together by presenting the shared myth of transformation that permeates the entire
tribal experience. We conclude by reflecting on our findings and future research
directions.
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
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Leaning on postmodern sociology, especially the work of Michel Maffesoli (1996),

Cova (1997) introduced the concept of ‘consumption tribe’, which has since become a
key concept of marketplace culture studies (Arnould & Thompson, 2005; Cova et al.,
2007; Goulding et al., 2013). Maffesoli perceived postmodern society as consisting
of various neo-tribes that have largely replaced modern community structures,
and address people’s need to connect with each other in new ways. Traditional
communities, such as churches and neighbourhoods, have lost significance as locales
of symbolic connection, and tribes provide the basis for a new type of community
(Cooper, McLoughlin, & Keating, 2005; Rosenbaum, 2013). Tribes contain elements
of romantic notions of premodern tribes, which add a certain nostalgia and provide
an escape from individualism (Cova et al., 2007). The central characteristics of
consumption tribes are their temporary and shifting nature, multiplicity, shared
emotional connections, playfulness, entrepreneurialism and symbols and rituals
(Cova & Cova, 2002; Cova & Pace, 2006; Cova et al., 2007; Goulding et al., 2013;
Greenacre, Freeman, & Donald, 2013).
The literature has investigated different aspects of consumption tribes, ranging
from individuals’ identity construction in the social context of the tribe (Bennett,
1999; Goulding et al., 2002; Goulding et al., 2013; Ryan, McLoughlin, & Keating,
2006), to the sites and practices of tribes (Goulding et al., 2002; Hamilton &
Hewer, 2010; Harwood & Garry, 2009; Moutinho, Dionisio, & Leal, 2007), to the
sociological and societal implications of tribalisation (Cova & Cova, 2002; Cova et
al., 2007; Greenacre et al., 2013). In their study of clubbing, Goulding and Shankar
(2011, p. 1441) focused on rituality and suggested that it contained components
of “mythology, formulism, sacredness, communitas and transformation”. This study
builds on their work by looking in particular at the embodied and emotional elements
of rituality.
Rituals and traditions have been identified as the central means through which any
consumption community creates and shares meanings within and outside it (Muñiz
& O’Guinn, 2001; Rosenbaum, 2013; Schouten & McAlexander, 1995; Sherry &
Kozinets, 2007). Specifically, it has been argued that shared rituals creating emotional
experiences are important for consumption tribes (Cova, 1997; Maffesoli, 1996).
According to Rook (1985, p. 252), rituals are a symbolic act of representation that is
habituated, logical and repetitive. In addition, rituals are scripted patterns of action
characterised by formality, seriousness and intensity. For instance, there are family
traditions that take advantage of nostalgia and myths (Belk & Costa, 1998, p. 219).
Through rituals, affiliation and relational bonds are manifested in different contexts,
including national holidays and family celebrations (Fischer & Arnold, 1990; Gainer,
1995; Otnes & Lowrey, 2004; Thomas & Peters, 2011; Wallendorf & Arnould,
1991).
It has been argued that rituals form an important part of tribal activities (Cova &
Cova, 2002, p. 609; Goulding & Shankar, 2011). From previous research, we know
that tribal rituals include artefacts such as objects, dress and costumes, as well as
ritualistic locations, language and persons who are important for the tribe (Cova &
Cova, 2002, p. 608). The ritualistic experience is filled with fantasy and sacredness
for individual members (Rook, 1985; Sherry & Kozinets, 2007). Even though rituals
might not seem significant to outsiders, they have great importance for the tribe
by sanctifying an event (Muñiz & O’Guinn, 2001, p. 422). The sacredness of a
consumption experience, such as driving a Harley Davidson motorcycle (Schouten
& McAlexander, 1995) or skydiving (Celsi, Rose, & Leigh, 1993), is maintained
by incorporating elaborate rituals. These can include, for instance, maintaining and
cleaning equipment, building shrines, collecting memorabilia and, perhaps most
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importantly, sharing the consumption experience with others. It is well established

in the literature that participation in these rituals is part of member socialisation
and the development of personal and collective identity (e.g., Rosenbaum, 2013).
Furthermore, rituals are connected with spirituality, as Sherry and Kozinets (2007,
p. 124) presented in their study of the Burning Man festival where, through various
rituals of radical self-expression, gift giving, bonding and performance, “pilgrims
are expected to participate actively in the construction of community that … will
facilitate the emergence of a transformed and renewed self”.
Through rituals, a certain sense of democratic participation in the tribe is

achieved, which in anthropology is called ‘communitas’ (Turner, 1969; Schouten &
McAlexander, 1995). For instance, off-road Jeep enthusiasts generate solidarity and a
sense of community by taking part in interaction ritual chains, which also “solidified
the symbolic goods used in their adventures as strong markers of group membership”
(Rosenbaum, 2013, p. 649). In this sense, rituals ensure that members are able to
transcend their everyday lives and enter a sacred tribal space (Belk, Wallendorf, &
Sherry, 1989).
Although studies on consumer tribes have identified various kinds of rituals,
they have not fully focused on the construction of rituality in consumer tribes.
Furthermore, the focus has been more on analysing the symbolic features and effects
of tribal rituals rather than their embodied and sensorial enactment through the
consumer’s body (cf. Valtonen & Närvänen, 2015). In the context of branded fitness
such as CrossFit, the consumer’s body and bodily movements are a major part of
the tribal ritual, as well as the customer experience of the brand. The brand is thus
manifested in what the body does rather than how it appears (Powers & Greenwell,
2016).
We argue that the linguistic, emotional and physical elements of rituality can be
highlighted by studying a tribe that engages in extremely physical and sometimes even
painful activities. We also follow O’Reilly (2012), who suggests that the emotional
aspects of tribal experience have not been fully taken into account in consumer
research. In their research, Hewer and Hamilton (2010) studied salsa dancing,
which is also a very embodied and emotional experience. We intend to complement
their study through our analysis of CrossFit, which constitutes another embodied
experience, yet one that has very different emotions and activities.
METHODOLOGY
The dynamics of a consumer tribe can be seen as too fragile to be subjected to

traditional market analysis (Cova & Cova, 2002, p. 604). Following other researchers
who have studied tribes, we believe that tribes should be understood using a
cultural framework to identify the various shades of this subtle phenomenon. In
cultural consumer research, the data are conceptualised as cultural texts comprising
naturally occurring talk and visual materials. This empirical analysis is based on an
interpretation of texts (Moisander & Valtonen, 2006). In our study, we generated
cultural data through observations and focus groups.
The generated data are centred on a tribe of amateur athletes, Reebok CrossFit
33100, who share a common passion for CrossFit. CrossFit is the registered trademark
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and fitness form developed by Greg Glassman (Powers & Greenwell, 2016). Its
core purpose is to improve an individual’s overall fitness and performance through
versatile practices. In recent years, CrossFit has grown to become an international
phenomenon. The number of CrossFit centres around the world has skyrocketed,
and affiliate gyms, Reebok CrossFit 33100 included, aim to differentiate themselves
from traditional gyms by offering a genuine community experience and an alternative
means of physical training.
For the first step in the data generation process, we conducted two focus group
interviews with a total of six tribe members. Focus group interviews can be used as
a tool to generate cultural talk, particularly if one is analysing cultural practices and
forms of social interactions (Moisander & Valtonen, 2006). Therefore, the social
impacts of group discussions and the complexity of the method were acknowledged.
The purpose of the focus group interviews was to encourage participants to express
their priorities on relevant aspects of the CrossFit tribe and to gain an understanding
of their inner worlds. To deepen the data generated, we also conducted participant
observations. The first author herself participated in an invited CrossFit workout at
the gym.
Further, we wanted to gain a deeper understanding of the phenomenon through
naturally occurring textual materials. Community members produce various types of
textual materials, and their culture is documented in forms that can be easily accessed
and analysed. Media is part of this process. Therefore, in our research, we identified
naturally occurring cultural texts on the Internet and social media platforms. We
observed the tribe’s communications on Facebook and existing sources of data on
CrossFit’s official website (crossfit.com). Additionally, we broadened our perspective
by reading online critiques of CrossFit. All material extracted from the Internet was
publicly available and permission for observation was obtained from the company’s
Facebook site administrators. Online observation was conducted for a period
of four months (January - April, 2014). As Kozinets (2010, p. 64) noted, online
communication is essential to gain an understanding of tribal experiences.
Firat and Venkatesh (1995, p. 244) described how, in social reality, all types
of information are produced through language and its discourses. Thus, we were
interested in how people as individuals or group members interpret the elements
around them. We adapted elements from discursive analysis that treat language as a
constructor of social action (Sitz, 2008, p. 178) to identify interrelations of cultural
practices within the language (Moisander & Valtonen, 2006, p. 51). We acknowledge
the constraints of textual forms of language. With physical exercise, such as CrossFit,
language is used to describe a physical experience. As Hewer and Hamilton stated
(2010, p. 117), physical movement escapes analysis and thus can only be subjected to
analysis through the interpretation of texts. However, we feel that we were able to
capture the essence of the phenomenon by using multiple forms of data generation,
including interviews, and the participant observation conducted by the first author.
FINDINGS
Linguistic elements of rituality in the Reebok CrossFit 33100 tribe

Our journey towards identifying the essence of Reebok CrossFit 33100 tribe began
with an exploration of its key ritual, ‘workout of the day’ (WOD). This is a rigorous
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script describing a set of physical activities combined in a way that the tribe feels
is unique to CrossFit. Enacting the WOD is the formulistic characteristic of tribal
rituality (Goulding & Shankar 2011); the procedure has phases of initiation,
anticipation and preparation, and it relies on members coordinating and cooperating
to move their bodies together. The description of WOD is shared daily on the official
CrossFit website, and it is replete with coded tribal vocabulary. Language is a way of
transferring and producing meanings within a tribe, and the use of ritual language
helps construct the tribe. Wenger (2000, p. 229) found that language contains not
only words but also resources. Language plays an important role in a tribe’s defining
of boundaries in relation to outsiders. Ritual scripts consist of verbal language but
offer access to physical activities (Rook, 1985). However, they are only accessible to
those who master the language. Schau, Muniz and Arnould (2009, p. 38) described
language as a set of codes that is difficult for an outsider to comprehend. Tribal
language offers an endless source of jargon and ways of using the language, separating
tribe members from outsiders. Using a tribal language correctly means exhibiting
important knowledge and social status within a tribe (Närvänen, Kartastenpää, &
Kuusela, 2013; Schau et al., 2009).
Through the description of the WOD, the tribe is able to execute the physical
activities presented in the script. The duration of the WOD varies from 30 to 60
minutes, thus varying the intensity and experienced efficiency of the workout.
The mixture of workout methods in the WOD is considered unique: it combines
weightlifting, athletics and gymnastics to increase individuals’ physical strength in
the most efficient way possible.
Generally, the WOD is present in every CrossFit33100 tribal situation. It is the
core event around which the tribe congregates. Even if the tribe gathers around a
theme other than everyday workouts (such as holidays or summer season opening),
it will always include a WOD suitable for the moment.
For New Year Eve celebrations there was this new thing …. We had a WOD starting at 11
p.m. and ending at midnight …. And then you were like ‘Happy New Year!’ (B1 - Focus
group B, Participant 1)
The tribe finds significance and a standard of perfection in the experienced

naturalness and simplicity of CrossFit and WOD. Previous research has identified
mythology as one component of tribal rituals (Goulding & Shankar, 2011). Myths
in Reebok CrossFit 33100 tribe are related to romantic traditions. As Thompson
(2004, p. 164) described it, romantic traditions are related to mankind’s longing for
unspoiled nature. Myths carrying ritualistic meanings communicate sacredness to a
tribe (Belk et al., 1989, p. 7) and maintain it by intertwining them with the tribe’s
shared feeling (Muñiz & Schau, 2005, p. 745). Myths can also transform things that
might otherwise be profane, such as physical training. In the case of CrossFit, some
tribe members refer to the Ancient Greeks and the original Olympic games and make
these notions a physical reality as they become part of WODs.
Some stories drawing on romantic traditions become more significant than others.
Stories posted on the CrossFit website, such as ‘World-Class Fitness in 100 Words’,
which is a short description of CrossFit, contain subtle implications and models
of romantic values, and they even possess evangelistic characteristics, which then
circulate among tribe members, becoming part of their language and manifesting in
the physical universe. As the example given earlier shows, crossfit.com is the main
source of information related to CrossFit, and builds mythical stories around the
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tribe (see also Powers & Greenwell, 2016). Some key people, such as trainers, then
channel these stories towards the tribe, where they circulate and fortify the collective
feeling and, again, manifest in physical performance. The stories strengthen the
collective values and beliefs and sometimes contain religious elements, such as
sacrifice or heroism (Muniz & Schau, 2005, p. 745).
As mentioned by Muniz and Schau (2005, p. 745), empowering, heroic stories
are part of the mythology that serves tribal intentions and ideological interests
(Thompson, 2004, p. 163). In CrossFit, heroic stories often contain tales of struggles
in life outside the tribe and, thus, can serve to strengthen tribal members’ commitment.
When tribe members hear such stories, their personal commitment to the tribe and
the meanings produced by the tribal experience are reinforced.
I’ve been thinking a lot about whether if it’s really impossible to combine …. It feels so
wretched to give up your passion for work or children, and here you see people with
families who have different systems to work it through and so on, and I hope I could do
the same. Like not to give up things that matter to me because money would be more
important or … something like that. (A1 - Focus group A, Participant 1)
Heroic stories increase the sacredness of the experience and help tribe members resist
social stigmas (Kozinets, 2001, p. 78). Once the experience is considered sacred, it is
unlikely that the tribe members will choose an alternative experience.
In addition to myths and heroic struggles, competition is also a strong part of the
tribal experience in the Reebok CrossFit 33100 tribe. It is embedded in the linguistic
codes of their talk. Tribe members use certain vocabulary to identify a speaker’s
or subject’s status in the tribe and to make constant comparisons. For instance,
tribe members use the word ‘Fran’ (a term for workout) to estimate an individual’s
progress in the tribe. The faster you go through a Fran, the higher your status will be
in the tribe. The tribe members pursue the tribe’s respect, and thus are in constant
competition with themselves as well as other tribe members. In a study on Black
Friday shopping rituals (Thomas & Peters, 2011), the theme of competition - racing
and trying to beat other consumers - was likewise identified as a factor adding to the
excitement and challenges of the ritualistic experience. For the CrossFit tribe, the
element of competition relates very strongly to the idea of constant improvement.
Competition is a positive power. During the WODs, you work as hard as you can. The
bigger the crew, the faster you have to go …. You always want to beat the person next to
you. (B1 - Focus group B, Participant 1)
Nothing is given for free. (C1 - Focus group C, Participant 1)
The element of competition and inner rivalry is coloured with sarcastic humour.
When the members are committed, the atmosphere allows tribe members to use
contradictory rhetorical devices, such as sarcasm, without arousing conflict. Sarcasm
is a means through which tribe members are encouraged and triggered to seek deeper
commitment.
It’s like ‘do you even lift’. Kinda f****ing with each other in a constructive way. (B1 -
Focus group B, Participant 1)
Physical elements of rituality in the Reebok CrossFit 33100 tribe

To enact a ritual, a tribe needs a physical or sacred meeting place; these physical
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spaces offer the tribe a temporary home (Cova & Cova, 2002). The enactment of
rituals in these spaces is what makes such places sacred for members (Belk et al.,
1989). For the case tribe, the physical meeting place is their gym or, as they prefer
to call it, ‘the box’. Interpretation of tribe members’ descriptions of the site reveals
that the box is a significant ritual locus. Belk et al. (1989, p. 10) pointed out that
practicing ritualistic behaviours in a certain place makes it a sanctum. Therefore,
through WOD, the box becomes a sacred place for the Reebok CrossFit 33100 tribe.
However, the ritual script does not bind the tribe to execute rituals in a certain place
or time in this particular tribe. Through information banks, such as crossfit.com,

rituals can be transferred outside the box; moreover, the act of performing the ritual
in a particular place in itself makes it a sanctum.
The main site has brought me the idea that I can do workouts without any equipment.
I broaden the view, like I no longer need the bench to exercise my pecs …. And it has,
kinda been lost in the hype that CrossFit gym would be the only place to do CrossFit and
so on …. (C1 - Focus group C, Participant 1)
As this interviewee’s quote illustrates, the tribe members have also learnt that their
own bodies can serve as the best instrument for training. In fact, the body plays
a significant role in the tribal rituals of CrossFit. Central to the physical aspect of
rituality in the case tribe is the notion that tribe members are in constant battle with
the limitations of their own bodies. They use other tribe members to urge themselves
on and push the boundaries of their physical existence.
The end of progress lies in satisfaction. (C1 - Focus group C, Participant 1)
The constant comparison between ‘rounds’ of a certain exercise reflects this aspect
of competition. Competition as part of the tribe’s ritualistic behaviour is a positive,
progressive force and an element of ritual care (Belk et al., 1989). It also shows
respect for the ritual:
When the WOD is on going, nobody will start telling jokes or anything like that; then it is
really about the thing … to really go at it with no limits. (A1 - Focus group A, Participant
1)
Hence, during the ritual, the physical and embodied elements of rituality are
emphasised as each tribe member concentrates on the physical movement of
their body and battles against its limits. It is only after the WOD has ended that
the members are able to share their emotions and talk with each other about the
experience. Furthermore, the embodied experience of WOD results in self-renewal

and a concrete sense of energy:
It’s a good example when people come to train in the morning like 6.30 or 7ish ...
everybody is so freakin’ tired, you know, they have a zombie-face on ... and then we
start warming up together and do the workout, and then you look at their faces when
they leave ... they are like, YES! I’M READY for the day at work. So it is incredible what
happens in one hour compared to if you had spent the hour making breakfast at home,
reading the morning paper; ... the increase in your energy level is something that
amazes me every time. (A2 - Focus group A, Participant 2)
Our findings on the significance of the body in the WOD ritual can be compared
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with those by Pentina and Spears (2011) in their study of tattooing. The body can
be seen as an important object for communicating self-identity. It is perceived as “a
means to achieve various social goals, and convey a meaningful message of values,
beliefs and lifestyle” (Pentina & Spears, 2011, p. 75). In their findings, they claim
that tattooing can be interpreted as a consumer’s search for a permanent identity and
control over it (p. 91). Taking control over one’s own body through CrossFit can be
seen as a similar type of act.
Emotional elements of rituality in the Reebok CrossFit 33100 tribe

Through the WOD ritual, the tribe members also feel a range of emotions, both
positive and negative, as they struggle against the profane and compete against the
limitations of the body with other tribe members. Hence, the experience of the
ritual is at the same time embodied and affective (Valtonen & Närvänen, 2015).
Combat against the commonplace is reflected when tribe members refer to home,
and especially sitting on the couch, as something mundane and passive that should
be avoided:
I can tell you that it sure feels tough, like, it feels hard at that moment; you feel like
staying home and just be like PHhhhh, not to do anything, but afterwards, when you
leave the box, you feel so much better EVERY TIME. I never regret leaving home. (C1 -
Focus group C, Participant 1)
Other people keep asking me how I can have the energy and the time, and isn’t it so
painstaking and time-consuming. I only wonder what those people DO after work
…. Like, what are they actually doing when they stay at home? (B1 - Focus group B,
Participant 1)
The ritual is about endurance and overcoming obstacles, sometimes through pain.
The emotional elements expressed verbally give the tribe members strength to
execute the ritual together. Moreover, the second quote here illustrates the boundary
between tribe insiders and an outside world that does not completely understand
them. The fact that the WOD ritual is partly incomprehensible to outsiders, and
hence partly secret unless you are a tribe member, is seen to testify to the vitality
of the community. Maffesoli (1996, pp. 90-91) called this the “law of secrecy”, a
“protective mechanism with respect to the outside world”. Furthermore, these two
quotations reflect a sense of Maffesolian “elective sociality”; tribe members choose to
leave their private homes and join others in an intense physical and social experience
of being together (cf. O’Reilly, 2012, p. 343). Those individuals who cannot or do
not want to experience the emotions involved in the ritual are cast out of the tribe.
CrossFitters are more prepared to tolerate discomfort, and they go outside their comfort
zone. And those who can’t do it kind of automatically fall off. Like, if you prefer easy
walks in nature, I wouldn’t recommend this to you …. (B2 - Focus group B, Participant 2)
Rituals enforce the communal feeling, communitas (Belk et al., 1989, p. 7; Turner,
1969). Communitas manifests itself when individuals temporarily feel as one, with
feelings and actions aligned and success collectively celebrated. This is the kernel of
the ritual’s appeal and meaningfulness. Even though the atmosphere within the case
tribe is relaxed, the ritual situation is itself serious. The WOD embodies the ritual
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characteristics of formality, seriousness and intensity (Rook, 1985, p. 252), and it

is consistent and recurring. It is a significant part of tribes’ historical continuum.
However, the WOD remains a well-kept secret until the moment of execution. This
adds an element of surprise to the experience.
As mentioned earlier, even though the ritual itself is serious and intense, elements
of tribal playfulness and humour can be seen in the ritual’s execution. In the intensity
of the experience lies the seed of the tribal ‘linking value’ or shared feeling (Cova,
1997). When the execution of ritual is over, the atmosphere bursts with endorphins,
making tribe members laugh, play, joke, hug each other and express the communal
feeling they’ve reached together. This feeling, however, starts to fade away
immediately after climaxing. This is the moment when the transient quality of the
tribe almost materialises.
Arnould and Price (1993, p. 39) examined river rafters and found that a feeling
of communitas was created by escaping from civilisation and connecting with the
wild. In our case tribe, the communitas feeling is created through the escape from the
everyday, collectively pushing individual boundaries and overcoming daily obstacles.
The following notion exemplifies a situation wherein communitas is born.
The sense of community becomes strongly involved when there’s this 3-2-1 go and the
workout starts. Then, if it takes, for example, ten minutes, and you have people from
different levels, from different stages physically, who have participated in the workout,
and the trainer has chosen the weights and reps accordingly and in ten minutes it’s all
over, and then you’re a total wreck rolling in a pond of your own sweat, and you glimpse
to your side and there’s your friend or a total stranger who knows exactly how you feel.
I mean then you feel like ‘YES!’ we’ve both gone through the same thing. (B2 - Focus
group B, Participant 2)
The interviewee describes the experience in a very physical and embodied way,
such as ‘rolling in a pond of your own sweat’, for instance. Hewer and Hamilton
(2010) have described the bodywork of salsa dance as an important form of shared
emotionality and community. However, participating in CrossFit rituals includes not
only positive but also negative emotions. While the salsa dancers described their
experience in “impassioned, ardent, beautiful and metaphorical language” (Hewer &
Hamilton, 2010, p. 118), the CrossFit tribe members use words denoting extreme
physical effort and even pain. The presence of (good) pain in a ritualistic context has
also been identified in the case of tattooing (Pentina & Spears, 2011).
Many studies on family rituals and holiday celebrations have emphasised that
participation in rituals is reserved for family members and close friends, which helps
to sustain those intimate relationships (Fischer & Arnold, 1990; Thomas & Peters,
2011; Wallendorf & Arnould, 1991). Notably, the interviewee does not differentiate
between a ‘friend’ and ‘total stranger’. Instead, everybody participating in the ritual
feels a sense of belonging with the intense physical experience together.
The shared myth of transformation permeating the tribal experience

The ‘communitas’ created through WOD holds the tribe together (Goulding &
Shankar, 2011). In their descriptions of the tribal experience, tribe members stated
that attending WOD helped them fight daily tiredness and bad moods. In another
study of consumption rituals, students engaged in binge drinking to transcend their
stressful everyday lives (Wolburg & Treise, 2004). Similarly, the informants in our
study felt that Reebok CrossFit 33100’s WOD was a transformative experience. For
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them, the ritual had extending healing powers that could dissolve negative feelings
and empower tribe members.
I DO feel, I mean I must say that I do feel somewhat … I guess more powerful when I
come here. Somehow I just feel that I know, like even if I would have a sh***y day, I
mean really sh***y day, but when I come here this is the comfort zone, so to speak, that
here you know the people pretty well, you know the training method in a way, that you
will feel good and you will feel powerful, in a way. Yeah I guess you can truly talk about
something empowering. (C1 - Focus group C, Participant 1)
In academia, the essence of tribal literature lies in the concept of ‘linking value’
(Cova, 1997) or shared feeling. Through our analysis of the key WOD ritual and its
linguistic, physical and emotional aspects, we were able to identify the linking value
unique to this tribe. As hinted at in the quote from Participant 1 in Focus group C,
these particular tribe members are united through a shared myth of transformation
that permeates the experience.
Next, we describe this shared myth in further detail. First, members describe how
they are able to gain strength and overcome their mundane everyday lives, as well as
counteracting negative marketplace ideologies, by participating in WOD:
… I have heard this from many of my female friends that this [CrossFit] is really good for
your self-esteem. I mean that you do not have to have any kind of special appearance
or conform to any kind of model that people would expect you to fit in, but I argue that
here, the way you look on the outside does not make a difference, but what you do and
how hard you try. (A1 - Focus group A, Participant 1)
Hence, it seems that participating in the CrossFit tribe at least partly attenuates the
pressure to conform to certain appearance and desirability ideals that can motivate
participation in branded fitness (Powers & Greenwell, 2016). Trying hard, as CrossFit
members see it, makes them stronger. The shared purpose of the tribe is to strive for
bodily well-being and a body that is strong and capable. This powerful body gained
by participating in the rituals is contrasted with the bodies of those who are not
interested in their health and restricted to working in the office and sitting passively
all day long. As one informant describes:
I think it is a certain mind-set that you like to challenge yourself and take your own body
to the limits. (C1 - Focus group C, Participant 1)
However, for tribe members, being part of the tribe is ‘more than just training’; it is a
sacred experience (B2). Maffesoli (1996) already made the link between religion and
emotionality in the tribal experience, which he termed ‘the religious model’. Hence,
a religious sense of ‘reliance’ on the sacredness of social relations is involved in the
tribe. Rituality is also historically connected to tribal religious ceremonies performed
by shamans and healers (Goulding & Shankar, 2011). In Goulding and Shankar’s
study of clubbing, the sacredness of the experience was described by participants as
pseudo-religious and transformative. They also described the DJ’s role in clubbing as
being central, like a leader or shaman. In CrossFit, the group effort seems to be most
important. Without the others participating in the same experience at the same time,
the ritual would clearly not be as powerful. Also, comparing our findings to clubbing
(Goulding & Shankar, 2011), the transformation process is likewise embodied, but
while clubbing involves hedonic pleasure, CrossFit is more about taking the body to
its limits and even beyond through extreme physical strain.
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The concept of shared transformation is apparent in the tribal language, that is,
when members use sarcasm and competitive language to emphasise their collective
striving for a more powerful self. As one of the informants recounts:
I think a certain gentle kind of teasing belongs to [CrossFit] somehow; it makes you
push harder. (C1 - Focus group C, Participant 1)
Hence, tribe members discursively create both the member’s individual and the
tribe’s collective transformation.

When describing the ritual behaviour, tribe members express that the box holds the
same healing power as WODs do. The box symbolises the meaning created through
ritual behaviour, and by simply entering this sanctum, meaning creation is triggered.
Thus, the permeating effect of transformation is also contained in the physical space.
However, the physical space is not required to momentarily grasp the shared myth.
As mentioned earlier, the ritual script is always retrievable from the Internet. The
skills and meanings created through the communal action can be retrieved at any
point in time even outside the tribal environment. This means that ritual meanings
can be sustained outside communal experiences and built with the support of the
online environment, without attachments to the physical environment.
The ritual experience in its entirety is impossible to retrieve once the ritual is
over. However, according to Belk et al. (1989, p. 29), consumers try to preserve in
numerous ways, for example, by photographing and saving the moments through
social media. The case tribe used Facebook to ritually document their experiences
through photos and status updates, and specifically by capturing meaningful moments
such as extremely physical WODs, holiday WODs and specific achievements.
Yo yo! We really gave a ride to clean personal records today. Awesome lifts, inspiration,
frustration and tantrums …. A whole range of feelings experienced at the box today - it
was a good day. (Status update on Facebook, 17.3.2014)
Ritually documenting experiences is an appropriate way to build the tribe and

maintain the shared myth. The tribe is thus trying to fight a very natural part of the
tribal experience: its transiency.
The shared myth of transformation plays a part in tribal consumption. Cova et al.
(2007, p. 8) described tribal consumption as a game with rules that tribe members
are familiar with. Their stand towards consumption is light-hearted play with
symbols such as branded clothes and sports gear. In the case tribe, members feel that
commercialisation can be seen in the prices of products offered by companies, but
see no need to resist them extensively. Quite the contrary, they refer to companies
such as Reebok as visionaries that offer products to facilitate tribal rituality. As long
as the products relate to the shared feeling of powerfulness, the tribe members
accept them. Even though commercial entities do not always intend to participate in
fortification of the shared feeling, tribe members bend the meanings of commercial
products to correspond to the meanings included in the tribal experience. The key
purpose of commercial objects is to facilitate the execution of rituals and build
social reality, apart from which members have no significance per se. Moreover,
members themselves decide the extent to which they wish to participate in the
commercialisation surrounding tribal activities.
The shared feeling and sacredness of the experience acts as means through which
the tribe can resist unauthentic commercial offerings in the game it plays with
consumption:
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The greedy people that do not see anything but a way of making money … no other
motivation. They do not see that they should offer customers good instruction and
facilities that work and everything else, because CrossFit is not just about training hard.
(B1 - Focus group B, Participant 1)
The shared myth of transformation exceeds all commitments made to the commercial
world. This is indeed in the heart of the tribalism of this particular community. Even
if it were stripped of all its commercial elements, the tribe would still cohere and
diffuse in the playful way so distinctive to consumer tribes:
I mean, CrossFit is great, but I believe if we would change the name of our gym to be ‘Our
Garage Gym’ without the crossfit.com it wouldn’t change anything; the people would
still come even though the name is no longer the same …. It might lure new people, but
when they get wind of it, it doesn’t matter anymore what it’s called. (A2 - Focus group
A, Participant 2)
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
This study identified elements of rituality in a consumer tribe. By analysing the key
ritual, we were able to observe the intertwined linguistic, physical and emotional
elements and identify the shared myth of transformation that permeates the tribal
experience in the Reebok CrossFit 33100 tribe. Hence, our findings contribute to
the stream of studies focusing on consumption tribes as part of today’s marketplace.
By combining academic tribal research and emphasising rituality, this research draws
on Maffesoli’s essential ideas of the central feeling and sacredness of communality,
which were also taken up by O’Reilly (2012, p. 343). In particular, we paid attention
to the features of ‘the religious model’, ‘elective sociality’ and ‘the law of secrecy’
(Maffesoli 1996). According to O’Reilly (2012), these features have not been fully
explored in marketing and consumer research on tribes.
Overall, the findings add to previous knowledge on tribal rituals by highlighting
how they are constructed from three kinds of element - linguistic, emotional and
physical - that work together to create the tribal experience and the shared myth
of transformation. In terms of linguistic elements, our findings largely support
earlier research on consumption tribes (e.g., Goulding & Shankar 2011; Schau
et al., 2009) by emphasising the role of ritual language and myths in the tribal
experience. Furthermore, we found out that the online site of CrossFit operated as a
bank of rituals for each member and tribe to follow and use. Hence, the online site
facilitates accessing tribal experiences even outside the gym. Regarding emotional
elements, our findings emphasised that the tribal experience is always both embodied
and affective (Valtonen & Närvänen, 2015). We showed how the intensity of the
physical experience is counterbalanced with humour and sarcasm. Furthermore, we
highlighted the emotional aspects of competition and inner rivalry as crucial parts
of the tribal experience complementing the focus on communitas and sacredness
as evidenced in previous research (Arnould & Price, 1993; Hewer & Hamilton
2010). Finally, regarding the physical elements, we paid special attention to the tribe
members’ bodies an important ritual locus, in addition to the “box” (i.e., the gym).
In particular, our findings shed light on the embodied and emotional aspects of
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tribal rituality that have not previously been fully developed in the literature. In their
study on salsa dancing, Hewer and Hamilton (2010) argued that the body and bodily
interaction take a central stage. Similarly in CrossFit, the body and bodily sensations
are important elements. Like salsa dancers, CrossFit tribe members find “temporary
escape from the mundane, relief from the stresses, tensions and contradictions of
everyday life” (Hewer & Hamilton, 2010, p. 119). However, our findings have
also highlighted other elements necessary to achieve the CrossFit tribal experience:
struggling against the limits of the body, competition and even discomfort. Powers
and Greenwell (2016) argued that branded sensibilities have thoroughly permeated
everyday life through using the body as a medium. However, our informants did
not uniformly act as brand promoters for Reebok, but instead expressed a playful
attitude towards Reebok and other related brands and commercial entities around
their tribe. Even if the brand of CrossFit was important to them, being a member of
the tribe was the primary motivator.
Staying fit is an important motivation in consumers’ everyday lives. The fitness
industry is generating significant revenues and fitness club memberships are growing,
for instance in Europe by 4.4 per cent in 2016 (Sky.ry, 2017). Furthermore, there is
pressure from low-cost gyms. Companies in the fitness industry need to look for new
competitive advantages, and branded fitness such as CrossFit has become successful
in this pursuit. However, according to our study, participating in tribal rituals and
being part of a community is more important for CrossFit consumers than the brand
itself. Hence, for companies in the fitness industry, understanding the elements of
rituality from the tribe members’ viewpoint is important. By identifying the shared
myth, companies can tailor their offerings and interaction with the tribe to reinforce
it. For any company that is involved in tribal consumption, it is important to perceive
customers as active tribe members involved in developing their own tribal experiences
and rituals rather than as passive targets of marketing efforts.
Finally, although the significance of rituality has previously been acknowledged,
more profound examination is still needed. Thus, future researchers should conduct
more in-depth analysis of rituality in different consumption tribes to determine
whether the three kinds of elements identified here equally apply. While the
technology-inspired level of interaction between consumers on social media and the
CrossFit site is an important part of the CrossFit phenomenon, this study did not
focus on it in detail. Future research could more fully explore how tribal rituals are
represented, maintained and developed online.
In addition, the corporeal and material nature of tribal rituality could be explored
further by using different kinds of theoretical frames and methodological tools. Recent
research in the area of physical cultural studies could be very useful in this pursuit.
These transdisciplinary studies share an interest in the sites, forms and expressions
of physical culture and their organisation, specifically in relation to social power
(Silk, Andrews, & Thorpe, 2017). In addition, drawing from body studies, feminism
and gender studies, as well as cultural studies, focus on the practices and processes
of embodiment and the body as an affecting and affective material entity could also
enrich the marketing and consumer research perspective (see e.g., Valtonen, 2013;
Valtonen & Närvänen, 2015).
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS AND CORRESPONDENCE
Anna Pekkanen, MSc, is a researcher at University of Tampere, Finland. Her main

research interests include consumer communities, consumer culture, consumer
identity construction and consumer tribes.
Anna Pekkanen, University of Tampere, Finland.
Elina Närvänen, PhD, is a University Lecturer of Marketing at the University

of Tampere, Finland. Her main research interests include consumer behaviour,
communities, cultural branding, sustainable consumption and qualitative research
methodologies. She has published in several international journals, e.g., Journal of
Consumer Behaviour, International Journal of Consumer Studies, Journal of Service
Management and Managing Service Quality.
Corresponding author: Elina Närvänen, University Lecturer of Marketing,
University of Tampere, Pinni A, 33014, Finland.
E elina.narvanen@uta.fi
Pekka Tuominen, PhD, is a Professor of Marketing at University of Tampere, Finland.

His main research interests include strategic brand management, consumer behaviour
and service marketing. He has attended several international conferences and published
in international journals, e.g., Corporate Communications: An International Journal,
Electronic Journal of Business Ethics and Organization Studies, Journal of Business
& Industrial Marketing, Journal of Communication Management, Journal of Fashion
Marketing and Management, Journal of Services Marketing, Managing Service Quality
and Scandinavian Journal of Management.
Pekka Tuominen, Professor of Marketing, University of Tampere, Pinni A, 33014,
Finland.
IP: 185.223.161.96 On: Wed, 14 Nov 2018 11:18:52

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JOURNAL OF

Elements of rituality in consumer tribes:

Anna Pekkanen, University of Tampere, Finland

Abstract This study analyses the elements of rituality in consumer tribes.

Keywords Rituality, Consumer tribes, Emotion, Linguistic, Physical

JOURNAL OF CUSTOMER BEHAVIOUR, 2017, Vol. 16, No. 4, pp. 353-370

Academics agree that communal consumption is taking an ever-increasing number of

Existing tribal studies focus on analysing the building blocks of consumption

Leaning on postmodern sociology, especially the work of Michel Maffesoli (1996),

importantly, sharing the consumption experience with others. It is well established

Through rituals, a certain sense of democratic participation in the tribe is

The dynamics of a consumer tribe can be seen as too fragile to be subjected to

Linguistic elements of rituality in the Reebok CrossFit 33100 tribe

The tribe finds significance and a standard of perfection in the experienced

Physical elements of rituality in the Reebok CrossFit 33100 tribe

or time in this particular tribe. Through information banks, such as crossfit.com,

The end of progress lies in satisfaction. (C1 - Focus group C, Participant 1)

experience. Furthermore, the embodied experience of WOD results in self-renewal

Emotional elements of rituality in the Reebok CrossFit 33100 tribe

characteristics of formality, seriousness and intensity (Rook, 1985, p. 252), and it

The shared myth of transformation permeating the tribal experience

tribe’s collective transformation.

Ritually documenting experiences is an appropriate way to build the tribe and

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

service encounter. Journal of Consumer Research, 20(1), 24-45. doi: 10.1086/209331

style and musical taste. Sociology, 33(3), 599-617. doi: 10.1177/S0038038599000371

rethink consumers. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 9(2), 113-125. doi: 10.1002/cb.308

Schouten, J.W., & McAlexander, J.H. (1995). Subcultures of consumption: An ethnography of

ABOUT THE AUTHORS AND CORRESPONDENCE

Anna Pekkanen, MSc, is a researcher at University of Tampere, Finland. Her main

Elina Närvänen, PhD, is a University Lecturer of Marketing at the University

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